UK July manufacturing PMI revised down to 4-month low

LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - British ‌manufacturing activity expanded ​for ​a ninth straight month in July but at the slowest pace in four months, according to purchasing managers' data ‌on Monday that points to a renewed impact from ⁠the Iran war towards the end of last month.

The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index ‌for Britain's manufacturing sector ‌fell to 51.9 in July from 52.5 in June, in contrast to an earlier provisional or flash reading of 52.8, which was ​the third highest reading of the past four years.

"The month-on-month fall in the level of the PMI was due to a ⁠steep reduction in stocks of purchases, slower jobs growth and a sharp easing in the ​rate of increase in vendor lead times," S&P Global said.

• The manufacturing PMI's output component rose to 52.9 from ​52.6, representing the broadest growth since ‌September 2024 but a smaller increase than the flash reading of 53.6

• Readings above 50 represent growth, while ⁠those below it represent contraction

• The data was collected from July 9 to July 28, while the cut-off for the flash reading was July 24

• ⁠A truce between the United States and Iran broke down in mid July ​and Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia on July 20, pushing oil prices above $100 a barrel on July 23 and July ‌24

• Manufacturers reported the smallest rise in input costs since February while employment levels stagnated

• Small manufacturers ‌reported a mild downturn in production volumes in July while medium and ⁠larger ones reported growth

• Official ‌data showed a 2.3% ​annual rise in manufacturing output in May, the biggest increase since March 2024

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by ‌Toby Chopra)

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